Lockdown 2.0, Day 102

 A big day today.

I slept in until after 8 - very unusual and a good way to pass a couple of hours before waiting for the press conference. Around 10 it was announced that the presser would be at 11, so we had breakfast (Tony cooked pancakes), Caitlin went for a run, and we were ready to watch at 11. I'm quite happy with the changes to restrictions, they are going to make life a bit easier and a bit more varied for us, and there's more changes coming in a week or two. From tomorrow we can travel up to 25km from home, and meet in groups of up to 10 people from 2 households. There's no time limit on how long we can exercise or socialise for. In a week or 2 we'll be able to see 10 people from any number of households, and have 1 family per day in our house. Retail and restaurants will open then too. It feels great to know that we are possibly on our way out of this - as long as numbers stay low (only 2 today). The press conference was stressful at times but I'm always impressed with the Premier and CHO and how well they handle the questions. I was also pleased to hear that Jacinda Adern has won the NZ election in a landslide - she's doing such a good job.

After the press conference I wasn't really sure what to do with myself. I'd been waiting for today for weeks and then felt a big anti-climax - none of the restrictions change today and I had no other real plans for today and not much motivation to do anything. We watched the falcons for a while and chatted. Caitlin and I did some yoga then jumped on the trampoline with Amelie and did some cartwheels. Tony fixed the fan belt in his car then went for a drive to make sure it was ok, the girls went with him and they went to the IGA and to Tony's work. I did the dishes and some work outside, then went for a walk with Luna. She had the lead on but I wasn't holding it, and she took off after some kangaroos - normally with the lead attached she doesn't run off. I finished my walk and didn't see her anywhere, and she wasn't home when I got back.

I suggested Caitlin have a driving lesson and we go and look for her - she normally comes running when she hears the car. WE drove around the property and still didn't see her, and up and down Houghton's Lane. I was really worried that she'd tried to cross the creek or gone into some blackberry bushes and got the lead caught on something (or, like she did last week, tried to go under a fence and got the clip of the lead attached to the wire). Tony was looking by this stage as well, and I suggested he get the Kabota so we could reach some of the off path areas - it was too wet for the car to go near the creek. Liam and Tony came down to look and went over the creek, Caitlin and I thought we heard her barking near the creek crossing, and she rang our neighbours and they went out to have a look as well - still no sign of her. I crossed the creek on foot and Caitlin and I hugged the banks on either side, Tony and Liam went up along the back of the property. I was getting really frantic, thinking she was stuck somewhere and it was getting dark, and I didn't know if we'd find her or if she'd be ok if we did - she's never been away from home that long any other time she's run after kangaroos, so I thought she had to be hurt or stuck. Just as I was getting really worked up, Amelie rang Caitlin to say that Luna had just appeared back at the house. Such a relief.

Back at home we call kind of collapsed into doing comfortable things - the girls watched Brooklyn 9-9, Liam played on the computer, Tony watched the Brownlow Medal and I listened to my audio book. The adrenalin in all of us is fading slowly and I think we'll all sleep well tonight.

Looking forward to seeing my parents this week, and some friends who I haven't been able to see in months - there's a few in my 25km radius, and others who's radius overlaps ours. The kids are figuring out who they can see and when - I think we'll take it pretty slowly, but we're definitely going to start to socialise a bit more over the course of the week.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 40

 I felt much better today, more positive about the future and felt happy with where I am right now. Yesterday was the anniversary of my miscarriage so that could well have influenced my mood.

Amelie and I made some designs with a compass and pencil and then played Mr Squiggle for a while. I did some work outside and on the computer and around the kitchen. I had an RACV guy come to look at my car battery because it's been playing up a lot, he thinks it might be fine if I just make sure I start the car every few days... I'm not convinced but if I keep having problems I'll get him to come back and put in a new one. I played the piano, Caitlin crocheted some gorgeous little dinosaurs, Amelie talked to friends and played Roblox, and hung out on the trampoline, Liam talked to friends and played on his computer. Amelie and I had an intense game of Mastermind (well, she guessed correctly in 3 turns, I took a lot longer and it stretched my logical thinking quite a bit), Mum and I played Boggle remotely, then Caitlin and I went for a walk around sunset, coming home pretty much in the dark. Luna is getting really good at staying near us even when we're not holding the lead - as long as we leave the lead attached to her collar. We all watched the Grand Final of Ninja State of Origin - we were so hoping for a Victorian win, but the WA team have several of our favourite ninjas so we weren't too disappointed when they won (and at least Vic was in the final race).

Looks like the weather is going to be a bit unpleasant for the rest of the week - it's already getting really windy outside and I think there's going to be a lot of rain.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 38

Another restless night, but no real time awake, just lots of tossing and turning. I woke up early and had a lovely few hours by myself, doing some writing, checking my email, getting the dishes done. My energy feels almost back to normal and my back is much better, so I was able to do a bit of work with the compost and patch some more holes in the driveway, nice to get back into it.

I made a batch of waffles and Tony cooked some bacon and eggs, so we all ate well this morning. After lunch I spent a few hours sorting stuff that we'd dumped into boxes, and clearing a few areas that had built up piles of stuff over the past couple of months. It was fun and I feel like I made some progress. Caitlin and Liam went for a bike ride, Tony joined them for some of it, Amelie played on the trampoline - she's almost got her front flip, her feet hit the tramp just before her bum, so she's SO close. She also spent time chatting to a friend and playing Roblox. Caitlin started crocheting little animals, and Liam played computer games with a friend. I worked on my course for a while then went for a walk in the hour before sunset. There were heavy grey clouds in the east, with an orangey tinge to them, it was very moody and atmospheric, and very pretty. Luna was tired after running with the kids on their bike ride so I walked completely by myself - I haven't done that in a long time and it felt quite liberating!

I cooked a curry for dinner - vegetarian, but there was chicken in the fridge so those of us who wanted meat added some to our bowls. The girls watched Avatar: the Last Airbender on and off throughout the day, so I saw bits of that too and continue to really enjoy it. After dinner Caitlin and I watched Top End Wedding. I started a new blog where I'll review tv shows, movies and books (https://readingandwatchingjoyously.blogspot.com/).

I briefly saw the numbers this morning and it was around 300. Feels steady, although it also feels like a long way until things feel ok in Melbourne. I don't even know how long we've been in Stage 4 lockdown, but there is a long way to go. I'm not feeling down about it, more resigned (and a little bit bored - but I can still have good days, like today, so we'll be ok).

Lockdown 2.0, Day 30

I didn't even look at the numbers today - I'm having a week or so off reading the news, feels like a break would be good for my mental and emotional health. The only news I heard today is that the school I did Yrs 11 and 12 at (in Newcastle) has also closed due to a positive case.

I felt a lot better again today, could pretty much operate as normal. I had a few rests after doing stuff in the garden or around the house, and I couldn't walk as fast as I usually do on my walk with Caitlin, but otherwise felt great. I'm just about ready to start doing pull-ups again. Well, not doing them as such, but working towards doing a pull-up. 

Amelie and I played Guess Who this morning, and Caitlin and I had a go of it later as well. Liam bought Skyrim on his computer last night so we had lots of chats about how it was to play on the different platform and how much he was enjoying it. He and Caitlin played Call of Duty and Halo for a while. Amelie spent a lot of time on the trampoline and talking to a friend on the phone. I hung out in my room for a while doing number puzzles, very relaxing, then I wrote a poem and posted it on my Facebook page - the first time I've shared a poem with others since I was in primary school I think - scary and exciting. Tony came home late for a Friday because he chopped wood at work before heading home - he'll pick it up in the trailer after work next Friday, rather than making a special trip on the weekend like he usually does. He brought home takeaway pizza and had picked up the mail - which included my first tea subscription box from T2 - I have been SO looking forward to it. I got French Earl Grey, Apricot Jam Rooibos, a sleepy time tea and a Darjeeling. They all smell so great and I'm drinking (and loving) the apricot one right now. Earlier in the evening I had a zoom call with an old friend - I haven't seen her in years (we live on opposite sides of Melbourne and are both busy with kids and life, and have talked about catching up and just not managed it) - it was SO SO wonderful to talk to her and we're planning to do it again soon. We had a beer together and filled each other in on big family news and just enjoyed hanging out.

Here's my poem:

Lockdown Days

Lockdown.

Each day much

The same

As the one before.

'What day is

It, anyway?'

The same activities

To pass the time.

Check the numbers,

Play a game.

Look at Facebook,

Hang the clothes.

Watch a movie,

Go for a walk.

A long walk.

Take as much time

As we can.

Then suddenly -

It's evening!

Where did the day go?

What about all

The very important
Things

I was going to do?

 

Oh well.

They'll be there

To do tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Or the one after that.

As the days pass

Quickly and slowly

And begin

To blend

Into one.

 

 

Annie-Lou Regan 7/8/2020

Lockdown 2.0, Day 27

Not much to say in regards to COVID information. Numbers in the 400s again, more information on workplace lockdowns, looks like Tony's work comes under food and beverage manufacture so he will still be going to work. Watched the press conference and felt so frustrated at the way the journalists keep asking the same questions, even in the same press conference, like they think the answers are going to change. 

I woke up feeling pretty woozy,  went for a morning walk as it was still sunny and the forecast was for lots of rain and maybe hail and a very cold day. It was certainly chilly on my walk around the dam - the longest walk I've done in a week and a half and it was good to be out there again. A beautiful morning. I had a shower and still felt pretty dodgy, so lay down for a while and tried to have a nap. Liam and I went out to patch a bit of the driveway I wanted to fix up before the rain (he did the work for me) and after that I felt pretty good. I was able to do a bit of tidying up, played the piano, did some computer stuff. I talked to the dr again and decided we'll try a few other things before going to the gynae clinic because I don't want to go out if I don't have to. We had hail and rain on and off throughout the day, and lots of our friends had snow. The clouds lifted a couple of times and we could see the snow on the fields up around Toolangi - that's the first time in the 9 years we've lived here that we've been able to see the snow - there's been other years it snowed but the cloud cover stayed low. Liam and Amelie jumped on the trampoline in the hail, and we spent a lot of the day going out and looking at the clouds, the rain, the hail, the sunlight - the late afternoon light was spectacular, sunlight from the horizon with very dark clouds above us. And an icy wind the whole time.

The kids and I played Forbidden Island in the afternoon (and we very nearly won but not quite). Caitlin cooked waffles on the waffle maker we borrowed - they were delicious!  I cooked pumpkin soup for dinner (it was definitely a soup kind of day) then we all watched Ninja Warrior, with our usual Facetime call to some friends to watch for a while with them. A good day overall. 

Lockdown 2.0, Day 14

Today was hard. Numbers are way up - over 500 for Australia, most in Victoria. We’re 2 weeks into lockdown and things aren’t getting better. It’s scary and worrying.

I woke up with my head all stuffy and my throat scratchy. Caitlin woke up saying she felt really sick - she’d been heading that way for the past couple of days. I feel like mine is hayfever, hers might be too or she’s just exhausted, or she’s picked up a cold from somewhere... but it’s not worth assuming that and being wrong, so we went to Healesville to get tested. It was a bit odd having it done on the same room I do karate in...

Liam and I had a fun morning playing games - Othello (he’s pretty good but hasn’t beaten me yet - probably the only game o can say that about!), Flux, Burn and Kaboom. Amelie joined us for a while too. After Caitlin and I decided to go and get tested he was a bit worried so went to his room to play on his computer and stayed there for the rest of the day. Amelie spent a lot of the afternoon on the trampoline and playing with Luna. Caitlin and I watched Gilmore Girls, she did some sewing and i researches website and storage options. The girls and I went for a late walk and played with Luna a bit more. The dam was beautiful in the post-sunset light.

We’re all a bit on edge. Caitlin and I both became more anxious as the evening went on - a duet session at the piano had us laughing hard and helped quite a bit. I had a bath and Caitlin talked to friends- I think we’re all a tad stir- crazy and feeling anxious and it caught up with is all today. The house is a mess and I feel like I have a massive list of things I want to be doing and m not getting to - hopefully tomorrow I’ll either be able to do some of them, or stop worrying about them!

Cool learning and connections

I'm confident that learning happens for each of us, every day, often in ways that aren't obvious at the time. Some days though, the learning seems to be jumping out at us and we are all making connections and it's like we can feel our learning jumping ahead.

In the last couple of days there have been lots of little incidents of delight where people expanded their knowledge or understanding of the world.

LiAM and a friend were outside after the rain and saw water running from the driveway, so they followed it all the way to the bottom of the hill and then saw more water running to that point from the other direction, and followed it up the hill to the top of the dam. On the way they saw a blue tongue lizard, and discovered lots about waterways.

Millie was going through all the odd numbers (1 is odd, 2 isn't, 3 is odd, 4 isn't...) and on the way discovered that the digits repeat through each decade of numbers - so 0 is the same as 10, and 20, and 30, and 1 is the same as 11, and 21, and 31, and 2 is the same as 12, and 22.... She's come back to it several times and keeps exploring the idea further and finding it holds no matter how far she counts. She's quite excited about it.

Caitlin has been practicing doing handstands on a raised surface like the couch - so feet starting on the floor, then hands on the couch and legs up - it was pretty tricky at first and she kept practicing and it didn't take long for her to get it. She also learnt some cool ways to flip into the foam pit at Gravity Zone Trampoline centre yesterday, a round off and some other aerials that she couldn't do before - doing them into the pit gave her more support and flexibility so it won't be long until she can do them on the ground.

Watching BTN yesterday there was an article about a whole bunch of new words being added to the Australian National Dictionary. I was interested in the words that had been added and we chatted about some of them, and I was pleased to hear about the dictionary and didn't think I'd heard of it before (or not in a way that was memorable). About an hour later I was reading a book called 'The Bush and the Never Never' - I had picked it up at the library that afternoon, partly because we've just been to the Never Never, and partly because it was written by a man whose name was almost exactly the same as one of my uncles. I was already feeling a bit weird because that same uncle had rung me up this afternoon (after I'd borrowed the book) - and we'd had a great chat about our trip and he was saying how much he'd learnt about Australia by reading my blog, and I was talking about things I'd learned too. On the 2nd or 3rd page of the book the author was talking about the meaning of the 'bush' in Australia, and that words related to the bush take up more room than any other in the Australian National Dictionary. A dictionary which I now know something about because of the kids' news program, and one that I am going to find out more about because 2 mentions of it in one hour has made a fun connection that I want to explore further.

Life in a house is a little strange

I'm feeling pretty relaxed as we continue to settle back in to life at home. Occasionally a worry or anxious though flares up, and I'm able to fairly quickly put it in perspective and feel OK about it, and get on with whatever I am doing. The car and trailer are slowly being unpacked, things are getting put away or reorganised, and it's surprisingly easy to keep the house looking tidy. We're all being more efficient with lights, water and power, we're not taking them for granted after living outside for 4 months.

I'm finding it tricky in the late afternoons as the light inside gets dull, but it's still light outside - it feels too early to turn lights on, and I'm not really enjoying artificial light anyway, but there's parts of our house that get dark quite quickly and the low light can bring my mood down a little. So there's still adjustments to be made to living in a house again, and it's helping us see what things we could do to improve the layout and set up of our house, which is cool.

Caitlin is at another sleepover - she'll have 9 nights without sleeping in the same place 2 nights in a row. She's so excited to see her friends again and is full of energy. She's doing heaps of work on reorganising her room and has made a photo presentation to show at Girl Guides this week.

We had our best friends come over and visit for the day yesterday, everyone was so happy to see them and they to see us. The kids played Minecraft and on the trampoline and shared all their new skills with each other, we mums talked and drank tea and enjoyed being with someone we were really really comfortable with.

Tony was back at work yesterday, he found it tiring although enjoyable. I found the afternoon really weird, waiting for him to come home and getting used to having that adjustment each day, time with him here and time with him away. I think we all missed him after being together so much on our trip.

A day with friends

(I forgot to publish yesterday's post until I came to write this one, which means there'll be 2 published today).

Yesterday Amelie was up early and continued watching Pokemon Diamond and Pearl while I checked my email, did some quizzes, blogged, did some work on my photos, did some Auslan learning. LiAM got up around 10am and wanted to play Lego Marvel Superheroes, so negotiated with Amelie to be able to do that for an hour before we went out. Caitlin got up and watched them for a while and played on her iPad.

We left a bit after 11 to go to the H's, on the way we played the car game we've been playing on all our trips lately - counting makes of car rather than colour. LiAM loves to be Mazda, Amelie is usually Toyota (although yesterday Caitlin was and she saw at least 5 times as many as the rest of us.) I usually agree to be whatever the next car that passes us is - on the way to Yea on Monday I therefore got Maserati as my car to count - the kids agreed to let me pick the next one instead, so that I didn't get stuck on 1 for the whole trip. When we arrived LiAM and A immediately started discussing Minecraft and things they'd done in their worlds recently, and then played on and off during the day. Amelie and J went into the front room to play duplo and Caitlin chatted with us and then went to play on her iPad and play with O.

I had a counselling appointment so headed off to that after a cup of tea. The session was helpful and exhausting as usual - the exhaustion will pass and the help will continue to become more beneficial. On the way home I stopped in Lilydale to buy a birthday present for our friend S, because it was her 11th birthday. I also found some swimmers for Caitlin (although I think I bought a size too small, she's growing so quickly I keep underestimating her size when she's not with me). I treated myself to an eclair from Donut King - haven't had one of those for many many years and it was exactly what I felt like - and I'll probably be happy now to not have another one for many many more years.

H had just finished work so I gave her a lift home. When we got back Amelie and J were still playing duplo, LiAM and A were having a sword fight and then went outside to the trampoline and the hose, Caitlin had helped L move furniture around and fill the shelves. I stayed for another cuppa and a long chat, while the kids played.

Eventually we went home, and it looked like it was going to start raining - would have been such a relief on a 41 degree day. It fizzled out pretty quickly where we were, although when we got home there had been enough rain to leave the roads wet, it had stopped by then though.

I cooked dinner (pasta alfredo) and we watched the new episode of Big Bang Theory. I did some surveys on the computer and Amelie came and snuggled with me and helped me answer some of the questions. Tony came home while we were watching 'Here Come the Habibs' and I took Amelie to bed to watch more Pokemon - this series has lots of Piplup in it, who is my favourite, so it's an extra fun one to watch.

Abseiling

LiAM was the first of the kids up yesterday, after having a great night's sleep, and he curled up next to me on the couch while I browsed the internet, and commented on what I was doing, read bits and pieces of the sites I was looking at, then after Amelie joined us we did some Minecraft quizzes on Jetpunk, and between the 2 of them they knew most of the answers.

I woke Caitlin at 8.30 and she got up to get ready to go abseiling with Girl Guides. I got breakfast for everyone and the other 2 played Minecraft. Tony got out of bed just before we left - he didn't have to go to work so was very grateful for a sleep in, and I was grateful that he could be home with L and A while I took Caitlin to her activity.

The abseiling was at Clifford Park Activity Scout Activity Centre, somewhere I didn't even know existed until this week. The setting was beautiful, in the foothills on the side of the Yarra River, lots of bush and some cleared areas and so many activities for campers or visitors to do. I started thinking about potential for homeschool camps and so on - will look into that at some stage. Caitlin was joining Mooroolbark Guides for the abseiling, so it was a group of girls and leaders she hadn't met before (they were there on camp, and opened this activity up and invited girls from all the other units in the area - Caitlin was the only one who joined them).

As soon as we got there 2 of the girls ran over and introduced themselves and took Caitlin off to play with them, while I chatted with the leaders. We made our way over to the abseiling tower and I read my book in the shade while they did the safety talk and showed them how to do it. When it was getting close to Caitlin's turn she wanted me to be closer, so I spent most of the rest of the morning near the tower watching her and the other girls, chatting to the leaders, and taking photos on various cameras (mine, the girls' cameras, and one of the leader's cameras when she went up the tower). Caitlin was quite scared when it was her turn, but she took it slowly and followed the instructions perfectly and went down fairly easily. She had 5 descents over the morning, and she got quicker and more competent each time, although she says it was still really hard and a bit scary each time. I was so impressed with the girls as a group, they were supportive and understanding of those who decided not to try it once they got to the top, and even those who tried and tried and after a long time of attempting to start decided not to go down. I was also impressed that all of the girls who didn't go down at first, went back up several times to try again, and each time got a little closer to abseiling down.

It was a fun morning and Caitlin and I were both pretty tired at the end of it (she was probably tireder, she'd done a lot of hard physical work, I had just stood in the sun for a few hours). We came home and the others had watched Ice Age 3 and were now playing Minecraft again. LiAM was helping Amelie write her signs and set up a zoo. We had some lunch then watched the rest of Heartland Series 5. I had a bit of a rest through the first episode, then started making some pumpkin soup, LiAM helped me chop all the vegetables. Tony had a big long nap on the couch which he found very helpful.

LiAM and Amelie spent ages looking through the pictures in the African Safari book I borrowed from the library, discussing the animals and what they were doing - there are some incredible pictures in the book. Caitlin played on her iPad, and messaged with friends, then once it got cooler outside we all went out and kids lay then played on the trampoline. We came back in one by one and watched the end of Night at the Museum 2, then an episode of Heartland Series 3, by which time Tony was in bed, and I wrapped things up pretty quickly and went to be myself.

Township, Ghostbusters, Pi

After having such a busy week it was a relief yesterday to have most of the day at home. The kids all slept in until mid morning, so I had some time on the computer, then tidied up a little and then had a much-anticipated bath and read my book for a while (Us by David Nicholls. An interesting style, but very readable). Amelie woke up and came and joined me in the bath until we were both hungry so we got out to have some breakfast.

Amelie played Township on the computer and we upgraded the Township app on the iPad, and everyone played throughout the morning. It was fun having the 4 of us involved, discussing strategy and deciding where to spend our money and so on. I haven't played for months and it was enjoyable having a go again.

Caitlin put Heartland Season 5 on so that I could catch up to where they'd watched the night before. I pottered around in the kitchen doing dishes while we watched, and Amelie and LiAM played some Minecraft. A friend called in to drop off my Norwex order, so we had a cuppa and a chat, and Caitlin played with her 2 little girls, taking them out to see the chickens (LiAM also helped let the chickens out), playing on the trampoline with them, painting their nails and showing them how to make loom band bracelets.

After they left I continued to sort out the fruit and veg from the day before and started a chicken stock and a zucchini slice. H arrived for the afternoon and she and Caitlin spent some time planning the decorations that H is going to do on Caitlin's new desk. Caitlin then started practicing her manga drawing and came up with some impressive results, especially for her first try. LiAM played with the Titan character pieces and Amelie played with her My Little Ponies and her Barbies.

AT 4.30 I left with Caitlin to go to acting, and the others stayed with H. I picked up Caitlin's friend and dropped the 2 girls off, both excited and a little nervous about the first class of the year - who would be in their class, and who would their teacher be? While they were there I went to Costco and got some groceries, and a really lovely-to-feel copy of Les Miserables (the book) for $17 - the cover is like rubber, and has words etched into it, I really love it. I also saw some diaries that I would love - the lines are not ruled, they are the text of various novels, in a really tiny font. There's Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes, some Dickens... And one with the digits of pi running all the way through the diary.... Definitely on my wish list!

From there I went to the library and borrowed a heap of books and DVDs covering everyone's current and regular interests - Manga drawing, foreign coin identification (Grandad and F both recently let LiAM look at their foreign coins and Grandad has asked him to figure out what country they are from), African animals, Ghostbusters (we watched it on Monday for the first time (well, first time for the kids, I've seen it many many times) and all week we've heard the music in other shows or heard references to it in unexpected places. So when I saw a book about the movie on the feature shelf at the library, it made sense to borrow it), Afghanistan and so on. When the library closed I raced down to k-mart to get more swimming tops for Caitlin and myself, and some shorts for LiAM, then back to pick Caitlin up at 8.30.

When we got home the kids were playing Toy Story 3 and H said they'd had a good evening. I unpacked my cold groceries (playing a bit of tetris to get everything into the freezer) and Caitlin and Tony and I watched Sia sing and then be interviewed on tv, then I took H home (she drove). Once I was back I got everyone a drink and then headed into bed, Amelie came soon after and the others weren't far behind.

Friends and homeschool group

I woke LiAM up around 9 yesterday morning as we had friends coming over and he likes to be awake before they get here. We chatted while he was waking up, about Minecraft and words and friends and movies, I love listening to his insights and following the way his mind works. He thinks so deeply about things and makes connections that I wouldn't have thought of.

He played Minecraft once he was awake enough, and Amelie got up and watched him, after being a Peregrine Falcon and then a pterodactyl for a while. She actually got out of bed because the pterodactyl needed some fish and I wasn't supplying them quickly enough out of my endless supply from my pocket... Caitlin got out of bed and put Heartland on - we have been watching the 1st series on DVD, and despite seeing it so often on TV, there were at least 4 episodes we hadn't seen. We've seen them now, and parts of the storyline make a lot more sense than they did before! While we were waiting for our friends to come LiAM let Amelie play minecraft for a while, and he helped her spell the words she needed to name her world.

L dropped her boys off just after 10, and LiAM showed A the Minecraft server he's been playing on - Mineplex. The boys watched him for a while, then J went outside with Amelie to jump on the trampoline and run around for a while. When they came back inside they played lego and with J's monster toy that he'd brought along. The older boys played Minecraft on the computer then Terraria on their iPads, and watched and commented on Heartland - what they'd do in the situations they were watching, what would have happened if the characters had said or done something different, when things looked or seemed unrealistic - I love the critical analysis skills that they are all developing when reading or watching anything.

While the kids were playing I started to sort out our leftover veggies to make way for our new box, and made a chicken casserole to put in the slow cooker for when we came home much later in the evening. After lunch (sandwiches and chocolate pudding) I got all the kids in the car and we went to homeschool group.

It was only a smallish group this time, 5 families I think, and there was still plenty of activity. LiAM and Amelie and some of the other kids played tag for ages inside (it was loud! and so much fun) then went outside to play in the playground. Amelie stayed in and played lego and cars. Caitlin and a lot of the other kids (and Amelie for a while) started to write and rehearse a play - we'd taken lots of props and costumes, and some other families had brought things as well, and the kids started working on a story which they are hoping to perform next fortnight. There was also lots of craft made, more slingshots and catapults and some pretty, glittery pictures and little people made from oddments in the craft box.

Once everyone had gone home except for us and L's kids, the 5 of them played charades for ages - each thinking of an item or a word and acting it out - the acting was great, and the guessing was thoughtful - it was fun to watch and looked like a lot of fun to play. I locked the hall up and they went outside to keep playing charades, then we had some fish and chips and afterwards they got their scooters and went up to the skate park. I had a brief toy library meeting and sorted out a bit of a plan for the rest of the term, then it was time to get ready for karate.

Amelie decided to try karate again, and did about half the training session - she was tired by then and it was quite overwhelming, there were 6 or 7 new kids, and the hall was very loud and echoey. I had been looking forward to karate all day, was very keen to get the exercise and push myself a bit, and it was fun, I really enjoyed it.

We got home around 8.15 and Tony was not far behind us, so we actually were able to eat dinner together. We finished watching the last episode of Heartland Series 1, and when the DVD finished and the tv came back on, and episode of Series 3 was on - but we turned that off and began to watch Series 5 which we'd just borrowed from the library. Tony and I both wanted to stay up and watch because we all love it - he went to bed though as soon as he could and I tidied up, fed the animals and so on then took Amelie to bed and left the big kids watching. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up sometime soon...

The day after our big day out

I was surprised that I didn't feel more tired on Friday night after our big day - I saved it up for yesterday where I felt tired and kind of sleepy for most of the day. There wasn't a lot I needed a great deal of energy for though so it wasn't too bad.

Tony started work at 9 so we had a bit of time with him in the morning. It was surprisingly hot quite early in the day, I was really feeling the heat - a couple of weeks of lower temperatures has meant we're not used to the 30+ degree days anymore. When Amelie woke up I joined her in our room to watch some more Pokemon, and we talked about our favourite pokemon (Piplup for me, Maluetta (sp?) for her) - she gave me a great description of her favourite and I could picture who she meant, I just couldn't remember her name. I love hearing Amelie's descriptions of things, they are detailed and accurate, and the types of information she includes gives a great insight into how her mind works.

Once the other kids were up we sorted through a couple of bags of clothes that a friend had handed on to us, and found something for everyone to add to their wardrobe. Everyone was fairly quiet and subdued after our day out on Friday, so we just chatted and watched tv for the morning. In the afternoon we headed out - LiAM went to the movies with V to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens again (3rd time for LiAM), Amelie went to her friend E's house - she hasn't had many plays with friends where she was dropped off on her own, without siblings or parents staying, so she was quite excited to be going to her OWN friend's house, and Caitlin and I went to H's 19th birthday party. We had a lovely afternoon tea, all girls and chatted about lots of things, the younger girls played cards and went outside to play on the trampoline, the rest of us mainly stayed inside and talked. The boys came home later in the afternoon and Caitlin and S played with them for while and we kept talking. I played with H's hair and did some braids I'd been wanting to try, it was fun and it looked beautiful.

Around 6 we headed back to pick Amelie up and then dropped S and R off. LiAM wasn't back yet so S came home with us, to be picked up when LiAM came home. On the way home we picked up a desk from hard rubbish that will work under Caitlin's bed, much better than the one she has at the moment. We also got a new scratching post for Winky, and a little filing shelf that I'm hoping will work better for all my paper work than my current system (which is basically just a big pile on the kitchen table that keeps growing and falling over).

The girls played outside on the trampoline and in the paddling pool while I tidied up a bit and made toasted sandwiches for everyone. I did a bit of work on my photo sales - I was too tired to concentrate much so I didn't last long, I did some quizzes instead, much more fun. Tony does quizzes with me sometimes when he's around - we did a Summer Olympics host cities quiz recently and we got them all right - well, Tony did. We both used to know the whole order and I had forgotten chunks, but he remembered nearly all of them and I filled in a couple. I love knowing/remembering stuff like that, it provides so many little hooks for more knowledge to grab on to.

LiAM came home after 9 and all 5 kids had a bit more of a play while R and I chatted some more, then after they went home everyone went pretty much straight to bed. Caitlin is between books at the moment so was reading some French books and learning useful phrases and jokes in French.

Karate, Guides, friends and car service

This is the first full week of school term and all our activities are back on. On Tuesday we mainly stayed at home. We played Titan, played Minecraft, watched TV, Millie and I watched some Pokemon, we did Sudokus, played cards, played with Barbies and pillow pets, jumped on the trampoline, Millie did some more drawing, we read books. In the evening we went to karate - Amelie came with as Tony was at work - she could have joined in, though chose not to yet. She watched from the side and played on the iPad. I really enjoyed being back - I was a little worried about my knee, but I'd warmed it up before we got there, and strapped it, and I was very careful doing kicks (it meant that I really concentrated on doing them correctly), and it was fine. There was one leg sweeping move that one of the black belts was teaching us that looked too risky for a questionable knee, so I sat that one out - one of the things I love about this dojo, that no one is expected to anything that they are not comfortable with. The kids played in the playground after karate which for Amelie especially made the evening much more fun.

After karate we popped into Coles for more chocolate milk and a snack, then home for a late dinner of potato wedges and dim sims. Tony came home after we did, and had some dinner then went to the shed to practice his darts for Wednesday night. He's trying to get to bed a bit earlier because he's working so much, so I'm doing more of the helping everyone get into bed part of the night, which means I'm going to bed later than I usually do, and then waking up later as well. I think I'm getting the same amount of sleep, just at a different part of the night, and it's taking me a little bit of time to adjust.

So Wednesday morning I didn't wake up until 8.10, and I was dropping the car off to be serviced at 9! I quickly cleaned everything out of the car and grabbed something quick to eat (raspberries and cream). H had come over to be with the kids so I took the car down, then walked to the bus stop in the rain which was quite pleasant. I thought the next bus was at 5 past 10, but there was one at 9.30, so I was home again within 40 minutes of leaving. All the kids were up once I got back and H was getting them breakfast.

H and Caitlin spent most of the day sewing, making a halter neck top for Caitlin. It was very cool to watch the process, as neither of them had done it before and they didn't have a pattern, and they worked together to figure it all out as they went, and tried different ideas and adjusted as necessary. The top is beautiful and looks well made, I was impressed and inspired by the way they just had a go and worked it out. H also helped Amelie make some clothes for her barbies, and they played with the dolls for a while. The kids played Minecraft with H and watched some TV. I was able to a heap of tidying up and cleared most of our kitchen table which was quite exciting, haven't seen that much of the table for a while!

In the afternoon V came over to play with LiAM, they tried to play Jetpack Joyride but we couldn't update our copy, so they played Minecraft and then went outside on the trampoline and swing. I had a cuppa with R, then she took Caitlin with her to get S from school and go to S's swimming lesson. I caught the bus back to Healesville to pick up the car (which now has a new battery, hurray! Hopefully we won't be stuck unable to start the car anymore for a long time now). H had got the kids ready and I piled everyone into the car on my way back through. I took V home and left my kids at his place, H and I took Caitlin to Guides then H drove home. I had a good chat to L while I watched her boys on the trampoline, then back to pick my kids up and a quick cuppa, then picked Caitlin and some friends up from Guides, dropped the friends off and then home. It felt like a complicated afternoon, but it worked quite easily and everyone got to be where they needed to be and had a good time.

We had a bit more food, Caitlin did some more puzzles, we watched Heartland (they are now showing Season 3 on ABC3, which we have seen on DVD but not on TV, so we were quite excited) then Amelie and I went into the bedroom to watch Pokemon until she was tired enough to sleep. I was in and out with the others while she was watching.  Caitlin watched a movie about horses. LiAM did an online survey that asked for a 6-11 year old boy - I was reading the questions for him and he was able to read about half of the answers, picking up a few new words along the way. Tony came home while were all still awake and was able to help LiAM get to bed and we all made it to sleep a bit earlier than the night before (although still quite late). Actually Caitlin has been reading a lot in bed too, so she's going to bed with the rest of us then reading for an hour or two, she's immersed in the sequel to The Princess Academy and she's really loving it.

Pool, movie, party

We've had a busy couple of days. On Monday Tony had to work (he originally had the day off, but was asked to work as there was a lot to be done before the grapes start coming in later this week or next week). The kids played the Lego Movie Game in the morning, while I got ready to go out, sorting some clothes to give to my sister and a friend of hers, and a box of old CDs, tapes, videos and discs which can be recycled at a place in Clifton Hill. Millie made up a song and danced to it on the trampoline for me, a beautiful performance about flowers. Caitlin helped me cook pancakes for everyone's lunch before we left.

Around midday we went in to Yarra Glen, dropped some stuff off at the op shop and then went to the library - but the hours have changed so we weren't there at the right time and couldn't return our books/pick up our holds. From there we drove to Fitzroy pool - the kids have asked to go there several times, whenever we drive past it on Alexandra Parade, and so it seemed a perfect place to meet up with my sister today, as she lives not far from there. It was a fair bit cooler than the days we've been swimming lately - in the low 20s rather than the high 30s - but the water was heated and was quite pleasant once we were in. The breeze that was blowing made us all feel pretty cold when we were out of the water, so we stayed under as much as we could and it was beautiful.

The kids and I played in the big pool until F and T arrived - Millie doing lots of underwater swimming, her confidence and skills are increasing every time we go to the pool. T came in the water with Caitlin but found it too cold and wasn't very happy, so we all moved over to the very large, rather warm wading pool. T was in and out, running around the little park next to the pool, and LiAM and Caitlin kept an eye on him. F and I were able to have a good chat while we lay in the pool, and Millie climbed on me and chased me and swam happily around us. L and C went back to the big pool for a while, then returned to us for a bit more floating around, then we all went back into the big pool. Millie went deeper than she'd been before and even tried treading water for a couple of seconds - and then she was tired and hungry and we were all ready to get out.

We drove back and met Tony at Yering - we'd swapped cars because the engine light in my car had been coming on, and I didn't want to drive all the way to Fitzroy in it. He was going to baseball in the evening, and I was going to the Bayswater Outdoor Cinemas, and taking some extra kids, so I needed my car back. The engine light had been on while Tony was driving it - and didn't come on again once I switched back into it. Odd.

We went home, had some tea and a shower and got food and blankets and pillows organised, then headed out again to pick up S and V, and then on to the Outdoor Cinema. We found a spot to park fairly close to the ground, and were able to find a place for our blanket at the back of the area for blankets (in front of all the chairs) and not directly in front of a speaker (which would have been too loud for Millie). The big kids ran around the oval while Millie had a jump on the Frozen jumping castle, then we settled down on our blanket to watch 'Hotel Transylvania 2'. I had only seen bits and pieces of the first (the kids have seen it) and I wasn't expecting much, especially when I saw that Adam Sandler was in it - and I was very pleasantly surprised. I loved it, and found it extremely funny. I laughed, loud, often. The kids all enjoyed it as well. Afterwards they ran around the oval playing tiggy in the dark (it wasn't completely dark, there were spotlights on) and enjoyed that as much as they did the movie. I took the others home, had a bit of a chat to R when I dropped them off, and eventually made it home after 11pm. It took a while to get everyone settled so it was a very late night for me.

Yesterday morning I was still up early as usual, and the others had a bit of a sleep in. Mum and Dad came down and I went for a walk down to the creek with them. Once we got back the others were all awake and playing Toy Story 3 on the playstation.

In the afternoon we all went to a housewarming party at the house of some of Tony's baseball friends. It was a lovely afternoon. LiAM played cricket and jumped on the trampoline with some of the other boys, Millie jumped for a while and then watched a movie, Caitlin jumped, watched some of the movie, chatted to the adults, practiced her cartwheels and bridges. I had some good chats with people and Tony really enjoyed seeing his friends. We got home around 7pm, and S and V came over after that for a sleepover. R and I sat outside chatting until it was dark, then she went home. The boys were playing The Lego Movie game again, and the big girls did some work in making Caitlin's room more private, and then spent time in there chatting. Eventually I took Millie to bed and the other 4 stayed up playing minecraft, Lego Movie and watching movies.

Quizzes, McDonalds and house organisation

I've discovered a quiz website that I love - www.jetpunk.com - and over the last couple of days we've all done many many quizzes on it. Lots of geography - I now know all of the Asian countries, including all the -stans and how to spell them, and am getting better at South America and Eastern Europe and Africa - as well as general knowledge, movies, words, sporting teams, and The Avengers and Harry Potter. LiAM and I did an Avengers quiz on Friday - name as many of the 100 people who have ever been on the Avengers list... At first we got about 16, then we looked through the answers at the end, then browsed his Avengers Character Guide book, looked up a few on wikepedia that were listed in the answers but he felt could never have been Avengers (and discovered, for example, that Sandman did try to work for good for a while, and did join the Avengers, then became corrupted again). We tried the quiz again and got closer to 40 - we'll come back to it again probably today and see how many we get. We did a lot of Harry Potter quizzes yesterday, with everyone joining in, and knew most of the answers (all the horcruxes, lots of spells, characters, locations, how characters died). The hardest (and most fun) was to name the 100 characters who are most mentioned in the books. We got around 60 the first time, then Caitlin had a go on her own (she wasn't there when we did the first attempt) and got close to that, then together we all did it and thought of 87. It's been so much fun - and one of the things I like about the site is reading some of the comments at the end of the quizzes - most of the people doing them are really keen to learn and keep trying the quizzes over and over until they have learnt all the answers. Especially the geography ones, I am finding it exciting to see people truly eager to remember all of the countries of the world. None of it is knowledge that is  necessary for getting on in the world, but it's interesting and fun and I love to see people learning because they are enjoying it, and I am enjoying it all so much!

On Friday we met up with another unschooling family, we had planned to go to a park but it was raining pretty hard so we met at McDonalds in Ringwood instead. I tried to use the self-ordering system (partly because our order is always a little bit complicated, and it seemed easier to take on the complications myself rather than explain them to the server) - it was so confusing and I ended up ordering 2 meals for myself and the wrong burger for Millie... The staff were lovely and gave me a voucher as a refund for my extra meal, and I went back and bought the right burger for Millie (although forgot to take off the onions and pickles, so she nearly didn't eat it anyway (I scraped them off and ate them myself, they are actually my favourite part of a McDonalds burger). The kids played with their friends in the very cool playground, and I chatted with the other mum, and once our food was all sorted out it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. We were going to finish the visit with mega choc waffle cones - but their ice cream machine wasn't working! So both of us promised our kids we'd get them at a McDonalds on the way home. I was able to use my vouchers which was pretty cool - the kids had a quick play in the new playground at Croydon Maccas, I don't think it was as fun as it looked, Caitlin had been so keen but was a bit disappointed. They ate their ice creams on the way home and that was a lovely end to our outing.

I had a bath when we got home, while Tony cooked spag bol, then he went out to a darts practice night, and the kids played outside on the trampoline and swing, and looked through their binoculars at things, while I ate my tea outside with them and then read my book until it was too dark to read outside. I also took lots of photos of them, including some of them jumping all at the same time on the trampoline, it was very cool. After we came in we watched the christmas bonus episode of Heartland Series 4, then turned the tv off and headed for bed.

Yesterday we had a whole day at home with no plans (my favourite kind of day). Millie and I played Neopets, we all played with the fish/animal puzzle at various times, the girls did their nails, we watched some TV and the movie Rango, LiAM and Millie played with the dinosaur pattern board, Millie and Tony did jigsaw puzzles, LiAM and I had sword fights outside using pool noodles (it was hilarious - at one point L had chopped off my leg so I could only hop, and I had knocked his sword out of his hand, so he was running around trying to get it back while I hopped around it and waved my sword at him - exhausting and really really fun), and we did heaps of work on tidying up, sorting things out, more rearranging of the dining room so that I can start putting things away in there. I felt like I made heaps of progress in lots of areas yesterday, it was a great day. Caitlin has also set up some cool new lights in her room - a long strip of lights that can change colour, and she can operate by remote control! They look very cool and inviting, and she's loving having light again in her room (I broke the one powerpoint in her room a couple of weeks ago, so she's only been able to use battery powered light, it's great that she now has another option, and we've got ideas for how to get her more).

A hot quiet day with multiple sleepovers

Yesterday was hot (37 degrees, so not the hottest day we've had this summer, but quite warm) and we had no plans to go anywhere - I decided to really work hard on keeping the house cool and to see if we could manage to be home all day - often it gets too hot inside and we go out because we're so uncomfortable. So I concentrated on closing the blinds and windows at the right time and turning the air conditioner on earlier than I thought I'd need it, so that it didn't have to cool the house down as well as keep it cool, and it was fine inside. Around 4.15 I started to feel hot, and turned the air con in the bedroom on as well, and that helped to keep it bearable. I think it also helped that we weren't going in and out through the door all day, LiAM and Millie and I stayed inside pretty much until after 4, so there was no hot air being let in. It is encouraging to know that if we really want to, we can stay home on a hot day.

It was a pretty quiet day overall. I pottered around and did housework, Millie played with her barbies and soft toys, I mended a few of her toys that were broken, LiAM played  Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare, Millie watched him for a while, we all played with the animal/fish game that we bought the day before (LiAM is very good at it), we had pancakes for lunch, I tried all day to put off reading more of my book (because I was loving it so much, I wanted to have a big chunk of time to read it when I went back to it, especially as I was getting close to the end) - then I realised I was not getting much done anyway because I was thinking about my book, so I went and read for a while, and felt better, and then got on with tidying up (I wrote about doing things that way only a couple of days ago, and I keep forgetting that it's ok to have breaks, to do enjoyable things, before I finish all my work. Hoping that if I keep reminding myself that it will get easier all the time, and I'll be more content more often). I also played the piano a few times and did some Spanish - I hadn't been doing much of either lately and I'm excited to get back into them.

Caitlin came home around 4.30, and the girls did their nails and looked at some stuff Caitlin wanted to show S. They both looked gorgeous in new dresses from the op shop in Yea. Caitlin was going to go and stay the night with S, and V was staying here with us - as they were also having 2 girl cousins over for the night and he preferred not to be so surrounded by girls. The boys started playing The Lego Movie game and apart from a bit of a jump on the trampoline once it cooled down a bit, they played that all evening and well into the night. They did a really good job of negotiating which bits they were going to play next, what their strategy would be, which character they would play and so on, I was very impressed.

Millie went with Caitlin to play with S's cousins, who were about Millie's age. The plan was that we would go and get her later in the evening, but when we said we were coming she was upset that she wasn't staying the night. She seemed quite settled and happy there so we let her stay and have heard this morning that she was fine. She'll be thrilled, because it probably feels like her first sleepover that is for her with her friends, rather than staying somewhere just to be looked after because Tony and I were going out.

We had to move Snowy and the chicks from her little safe spot again. It's getting easier each night for me to reach in there and grab her, I'm less scared each time that she's going to peck me (or less concerned about being pecked, if she gets me she gets me, and it will be fine). It sometimes amazes that I can handle the chickens so confidently, when they used to freak me out a lot more when we first got them. It's cool that the kids, especially Millie, are so comfortable and confident with them, they won't have the fear around animals that I had for so long.

Chickens

Sunday was a much quieter day compared to our busy Sunday. For the most part we stayed at home. LiAM was feeling quite worn out from being at the rodeo (and he did 20000 steps on Saturday, so figured he could sit still all day on Sunday and still have 10000 steps per day for the weekend) and watched a fair bit of tv and played Plants v Zombies and Lego Harry Potter. He and Millie also played Minecraft for a while.

3 new chicks were hatched early in the morning, 2 black and 1 yellow (we have SO many black chickens now). They were still in a laying box in the main pen, so we needed to move them to the chick pen. I put on long sleeves and gloves as Darkness, the mother, is quite vicious when she has chicks (actually she's vicious most of the time, just more so (understandably) when she has chicks. We had another hen (Snowy) have chicks in December and although she's very protective, and a very big hen, she's way less scary than Darkness). I grabbed Darkness out of her box and Millie carried the chicks one at a time to the new pen and I popped the mum in with them. It all went pretty smoothly (although one chick fell under the hay in the new box and couldn't get out, so I braved Darkness again and went in and rescued it, and rearranged the hay a little so that it was unlikely to happen again. Later in the day I went to check on them and one of the chicks had become stuck under the bottom bar of the pen. Trying to rescue her I got a sharp bite from Darkness - but I got the chick out and she looks ok.

Apart from chick wrangling I spent most of the day pottering around and catching up a bit on my general tidying. In the afternoon Tony took Caitlin to meet a friend at Healesville pool, and Millie went next door to see our neighbour. LiAM and I stayed home and watched some Green Lantern and a couple of other shows.  Caitlin's friend came home with her for tea, and then it was organised for her to stay overnight. The girls played Lego Harry Potter with LiAM, jumped on the trampoline, went for a bike ride, played on the iPad, chatted lots and had a fun evening.

When they put the chickens to bed they discovered that Snowy and her batch of chicks were not in the main pen - I'd hoped that when she couldn't get into the chick pen (because Darkness was shut in there) she'd take her brood into the main pen. We lost 2 chickens probably to foxes earlier this week when they didn't get shut away, so I really didn't want to leave a hen and 5 little chicks out. I searched for ages and eventually found them all tucked in between our brick pile and the shed, she was quite well hidden. I had all the kids help me - once again I grabbed the (shrieking) mother and the kids grabbed the 5 chicks and we safely moved them all into the main pen.

After all the chicken excitement we all got ready for bed (it was quite late by now anyway) and wandered off one or 2 at a time.

Sorting, party, and rodeo

On Thursday a anFriday I spent most of the day sorting through all our sewing and craft supplies. They were piled up on and under the sewing desk, which is set to become Caitlin's dressing table, and in tubs in the hallway. I got through most of it, and while I didn't get rid of a huge amount, it is now all organised into tubs and boxes, I know what we've got, and Caitlin's room is nearly free of extra stuff, so she can really make it her own.

We'd just borrowed Season 4 of Heartland from the library, so while I sorted we watched that - it's such a compelling show, and a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of days (planning to finish the series today), and it made sorting the sewing seem easy as I was happily entertained while I was doing it. And we were all hanging out together which was really lovely as well.

LiAM's friend V came over on Friday evening for a sleepover. We had pizza for dinner and the boys played Lego Harry Potter, Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare and Minecraft on the Playstation and Xbox, with the occasional trip outside to jump on the trampoline, play on the swing, run down into the paddock to see if they could get closer to the kangaroos (they couldn't - the kangaroos ran as soon as they saw the kids coming). They stayed up pretty late playing and talking, and were up again early in the morning and kept going. They really had a lovely time together.

On Saturday morning I'd heard about a garage sale in Yarra Glen, and Millie had been asking lately to go to a yard sale, so it seemed like a perfect chance to go. LiAM was interested too but decided to stay and play with his friend, and I said I'd buy anything that I thought he'd be interested in. Caitlin came along as well and the 3 of us had fun browsing through all the goods on offer, and came up with a selection of DVDs, bowls, a cool plate and cup for Millie with a strawberry pattern on it, a few stuffed toys (I found a very cool monkey for LiAM, and a penguin for Millie - she'd also been saying recently that everyone else in the family has a toy penguin and she wanted one too), a washing basket and a few other bits and pieces.

The girls put some blankets out on the back lawn and had a tea party with most of their stuffed toys. Millie had also bought a 3 part serving dish, which was perfect to house some tea party food. After the tea party Caitlin and I headed off to a friend's house for a Norwex cleaning products party. I hadn't seen my friend since before christmas and hadn't been to her new house at all (Tony and Caitlin helped them move in, but I hadn't been), so it was great to catch up with her and her husband, see the new place, and catch up with some of her other friends that I know as well. I could have bought a lot of stuff as well - I just grabbed a few things that I'm pretty sure I will use because I don't have anything like them and have been wishing I did.

From there we raced back home to pick up LiAM, and Caitlin's friend S, and the 4 of us went to the 1st Annual Yarra Valley Rodeo. I could not believe the number of people who were there - the biggest crowd I've ever seen in Healesville! We parked a little way up Chum Creek Rd and walked back to the racecourse, and joined the long (but fast moving) ticket line. Because I'd had a rushed afternoon I'd forgotten to get our hats out of the car, and the water bottle, and I didn't have any food with us - which wouldn't have been a problem if the crowd hadn't been so big and all the lines so long! Luckily I had sunscreen so waiting in the sun wasn't as bad as it could have been. Once we got in we found the water station and all had a good drink.

Caitlin confidently led us through the crowd up to the front near the arena and we found a spot where people were sitting on the ground and we squeezed in there (there were no grandstands, it was people sitting in their own chairs around the arena, and people standing behind them, so I had been worried we wouldn't be able to see at all). It was a good view, and Caitlin was pretty excited to be so close to the horses. Once we were settled I left the kids there and went to line up for food and drink. It was one of the densest throngs of people I've been in for a very long time - I'm glad I was able to leave the kids and just get through it myself. Eventually I got to the front of the line and discovered there was a very long wait for hot chips (which the kids wanted) - so I got roast beef sandwiches instead, I didn't want to be away for even longer. I made it back and they were happy and still settled - happier once they had something to eat and drink.

It was very dusty and LiAM was a bit worried about his asthma, but we managed to keep it under control with some telfast and rescue remedy. I'd seen a friend of the girls when I was heading out for food, so she sat with us as well. After we'd eaten the kids needed the toilet, so we made our way out and did that, then wandered over to the dodgem cars and all 4 kids had a go - they loved it. We also ran into some other friends of the girls and it was a fun place to be. We made our way back to our spot and squeezed in to a slightly smaller space to watch the rest of the rodeo. So cool seeing all these events for real, especially after watching them in Heartland quite a lot this week. I loved the team roping and the bareback. Caitlin was hanging out for the Barrel Racing, which was the 2nd last event, and was very exciting when it finally happened. Those girls are fast, and so in control of their horses. I was surprised how much I loved the bull riding - and I'd planned to leave before the open bull riding so we could beat the crowd - but the 2nd division bull riding was so great, we decided to stay and watch at least a few of the top level guys, and I'm glad we did, it was spectacular. We left after 3 bulls, and saw another one on our way out of the crowd. Another toilet stop, then the last bull ride happened as we were heading for the gate, so we weren't completely ahead of the crowd but were in front of most of it. Getting out wasn't too hard, the kids were pretty pumped so the walk to the car not difficult (although they were disappointed that I went back a different way which meant we didn't have to jump/climb across a big ditch in the dark (we'd come through the ditch on the way in and they all enjoyed it)). We took S home then back to our place where we watched the end of the cricket and crashed pretty quickly into bed.

LiAM on dodgem cars

Caitlin in front of the ring at the rodeo

Bull riding

Caitlin's 11th birthday

Yesterday was Caitlin's 11th birthday!

She woke early (the sun is rising before 6 at the moment so it's easy for everyone to wake up by 6.30) and we all had a big birthday cuddle in our bed before getting up to do presents. LiAM and I quickly wrapped everything (we'd gotten home late and very tired the night before, from party food shopping, and had put off the wrapping until the morning). Caitlin was thrilled with her presents - from LiAM, a Minions Mega Blocks hot dog stand, from Millie, a Lego Friends dressing room, and from Tony and I - a horse calendar, a Billie B Brown diary for next year, a note book on a clipboard, and tickets to see Taylor Swift in December!

The kids got stuck into making all the lego and then playing with it. We had bacon for breakfast and a very relaxing morning.

At 11.30 Caitlin and I went into Yarra Glen to get some little prizes for games for her party, then we picked up her friend S and went up to Ponyland for the girls to go on a Trail Ride. They were joined by another friend from Caitlin's acting class. It was a magnificent spring day, perfect for a trail ride. Caitlin rode Charisma, her very favourite horse, and the other girls rode on Charlie and Happy. Caitlin was allowed to do some cantering, and Charisma started then dropped back into a trot - but she loved the ride and the experience and 3 very happy girls came back after an hour on the trail.

We went back to our place and they had lunch, then made friendship bracelets and played on the trampoline. We set up the camper trailer in the backyard, and then 3 other friends arrived for the sleepover. It was an amazing evening. They danced, played on the trampoline and swings, chased each other with the water gun Caitlin got as a present,  told jokes, played lots of games (storytelling and making people laugh etc) and put on a talent show. Those who didn't want to participate were the judges (along with LiAM) - Caitlin and Millie acted out a play created by Caitlin, one girl did gymnastics, one sang and one drew a picture - they were all quite impressive. We had pizza for dinner, and after Caitlin's cake we roasted marshmallows on the fire. It was warm enough for everyone to be outside, even for the meal, which made it all a bit exciting as well. We set up everyone's beds in the trailer - the 6 girls all managed to fit on the floor, and they played more games in there - once I made sure everyone was comfortable and would let me know if they needed anything, I left them to it and obviously they all fell asleep at some stage. It was one of the most fun parties I've been involved in, very relaxed and very enjoyable, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Caitlin at 11 is so much fun to be around. She's funny and generous and talkative and really loves people. She makes friends easily and loves to socialise, although is also becoming more comfortable being by herself or just with her family. She thinks deeply about things and asks a lot of questions, particularly about relationships and social and cultural norms. She loves performing and is doing 2 drama classes a week which lead to a big production each semester. She really really loves horses, and is working on ways to afford her own horse as soon as she can. She is creative and learns very quickly so picks up new skills seemingly effortlessly. She has big dreams and actively works towards making them all come true, I love her enthusiasm and her commitment to what she wants, it is quite inspiring. She's also not swayed by convention or fashion or and very much makes her own decisions about what is important to her. She has a great sense of style and always seems very comfortable in herself. This year she has learnt to crochet and made beanies and flowers and lots of other things, and continued to create loom band products and even had a couple of commissions to make things. She has helped Tony out a few times at baseball functions and is really confident and competent at whatever job she is given.

I am so looking forward to hanging out with her more and more as she grows into a young woman.

Happy Birthday Caitlin!